Picture my friend Charlie strutting into a casual lunch at a pub in Chorlton with an accompanying tweed cap, a tattersall shirt, plus fours and sock garters which look like they’re strangling his calves into submission. We were not going shooting. We were not in the countryside.
We were in a craft beer restaurant and everyone behind the bar had artisanal beards and wheat tattoos on their forearms. He was met with… let’s say confused looks. The verdict from the hipsters?
Too trendy by half or the saddest Dad life never gave you. He had decamped to the family estate for cousin’s birthday party the day before and genuinely thought this was now “his style”.
Bless him, he spent the ensuing three hours trying to justify every part of his outfit whilst dripping with sweat, because God forbid you wear tweed in August. [Read More Inside](http://www.sartorialhipster.com/im1979-beyond-the-barbour-british-country-style-without-looking-like-you-got-lost-on-a-moor/)Please Continue Reading… Let’s be honest, country style can be a minefield for the modern British man.
Done wrong and you’ll look like you’re on your way to start the boxing day hunt or jumped out of a Jilly Cooper novel. Done right and you have an arsenal of timeless looks that never go out of style because quite simply: they work. I’m not trying to start an argument here folks, but a lot of our countryside stereotypes are built on class division.
Put on all the essentials from battered wellies to Harris tweed and you may as well hang a sign round your neck that says “I have opinions about inheritance tax” or “My family have owned the same acreage in Hampshire since 1765”. Start picking out the individual elements that actually work though and you’ve got a style that suits life in Britain down a tee (or better yet, a well washed henley). ## Stop Cosplaying The waxed jacket is a case in point. Sure Barbour themselves have taken a bit of a wild journey recently from being bastions of landed gentry credibility to being worn by every rapper alive to suddenly being the go to jacket for your average hipster.
But for every Barbour there’s a less obvious choice. Fellow Mancs Private White V. C. offer a waxed cotton ventile bomber jacket that’s just as hardwearing but without shouting “ESTATE” across crowded rooms.
Add a regular pair of jeans and trainers instead of moleskin trousers and brogues and you’ve stopped pretending to be Charles from the upper sixth who spent gap yah discovering yourself**,** and started actually dressing like you enjoy the great outdoors. What I’ve learnt to do is pick one country-esque piece per outfit. Throw the waxed jacket on top of jeans and a plain sweatshirt.
Wear a Fair Isle jumper with workwear chinos and boots instead of plus fours and brogues. Rescue the cursed tattersall shirt by wearing it open over a tee-shirt with some joggers. *I actually saw the second guy do this the other week in a country pub after a stroll in the Peak District (yeah I know, Dad Life won, what with the “stroll”. Sue me, I built up a thirst alright…) One was wearing a Barbour, moleskins, checked shirt and hunter wellies.
He looked like he was about to announce who’d seen the fox last. His companion was wearing jeans, a plain navy sweatshirt and just a tweed flat cap. Country inspiration, executed entirely differently.
Rather than inheriting his Grandads old clothes, the second guy had actually thought about what he was wearing. Trust me. I learnt this lesson the hard way. Five years ago I went ‘fullcountry’ to meet the founder of a heritage brand launch at Liberty.
Tweed blazer with leather elbow patches, checked shirt, corduroys and brogues. Completed with a flat cap I was sure made me look rusticly fashionable. Headed up to the toilet to cheque myself in the mirror and thought “Fuck, am I rich?”.
Saw myself and nearly shit myself. I looked like something out of the shoot of David Cameron breezing down onto his beloved constituency. The PR girl who invited me actually asked me if I lived “down the country”.
Where I live is Ancoats. If anything’s rural about my life it’s the sorry state of my basil plant on the windowsill. British country dressing is undergoing something of an existential crisis at the moment where on the one hand it’s the epitome of conservatism yet is also at the forefront of talking about sustainability, repair services and buying better but fewer items.
Brands that have clothed our country gentlemen for generations are suddenly invoking mantras we usually associate with much more radical fashion movements. Long story short: You can buy a Barbour and feel good about not destroying the planet. So where do we start with actually putting these stylish outfits together without looking like extras from Downton Abbey? Materials are where it’s at with country dressing.
Wool. Lots of lovely water resistant breathable wool. You don’t need to wear tweed (although there’s nothing wrong with it, just be prepared for some questions about your voting preferences..) but a plain old Shetland jumper from the masters of such things as Jamieson’s of Shetland will give you all the good country feels without worrying about headgates and shooting licences. Shoes.
Country shoes are amazing. They’re built to last: proper welts, thick soles and leather that’s been leathered to within an inch of its life. But it doesn’t have to be full-blown brogues.
Tricker’s and Cheaney do some fantastic boots that have all the construction and weather proofing of traditional country boots but with a cleaner more modern aesthetic. I bought a pair of Tricker’s Stow boots about 8 years ago and they’ve been resoled twice already. They still look better than when I bought them.
Go through more jeans than I care to admit and work with chinos and even certain suits if you’re feeling continental. Ok, ok if you want to go full blown Austin Oxford Roll-up-your-sleeves country boy then go nuts. Just take it one step at a time.
If a waxed canvas messenger bag or backpack. Gives you the rugged, I’ve been camping life without worrying about people thinking you poach squirrels in your free time.
Worsted wool scarf from the experts at Johnstons of Elgin will keep you snug as a bug without looking like you do commentary on horse trials in your spare time.
Speaking of vintage, there’s a great secondhand shop in Manchester that specialises in country clothing and I kid you not, every time I go in there I see a garment that weighs twice as much as my entire wardrobe and costs about a tenner. Old Barbour jackets that have been worn into submission, Harris tweed blazers for £30, real moleskin trousers that you could pay stupid amounts of money for new. Vintage is always worth looking at if you’re interested in country style but don’t want to sell a kidney on ebay.
As with any look, London country style relies on one key rule: One country inspired piece per outfit. Mix it with some modern staples, tread away from full costumes and learn to love quality fabrics and good tailoring. You’re not pretending to own a country estate, you’re pilfering the best bits of what they’ve obviously got nailed down when it comes to dressing for life in Britain.
Because however much stick we might give ‘retro trends’, the truth is British country clothing was designed with our rainy, windy, never knows weather mind. And that’s something we can all get behind – Christmas market in Berlin or not. Oh and a parting shot on the etiquette.
Someone says they like your Barbour jacket and asks where you got it. “Oh this old thing? I found it on eBay.” “No it’s from the family estate” is never an acceptable answer I’m afraid.
